THE recently-formed Zero Net Emissions from Agriculture CRC has announced that prominent University of Queensland geneticist Professor Ben Hayes has joined organisation as research director.

Prof Hayes, a renowned researcher in the field of genetic improvement of livestock, crops, pastures and aquaculture species, will be responsible for overseeing the team planning and delivering emissions projects across four key research programs.

Prof Ben Hayes

The Zero Net Emissions from Agriculture CRC aims to bring industry, community and government action together to achieve Zero Net Emissions from ag from 2040, and below zero net emissions by 2050. Agriculture directly contributes 16.9pc of Australia’s national emissions and the CRC’s goal is to ensure agricultural industries keep growing, while simultaneously achieving ZNE by 2040 and exceed international emissions reduction targets by 2050.

The ten-year CRC kicked off in July, with 74 industry and academic partners involved. The $300 million budget is the largest ever allocated in the CRC movement’s 30 year history. Prof Hayes was one of the leads in the University of Queensland’s bid for the ZNE Ag CRC, and has now stepped away from his role as UQ’s director for the Centre of Animal Science.

In his place, Prof Tim Mahony, who has been with QAAFI’s Centre for Animal Science since 2010, is now acting director for the centre.

Prof Hayes is the co-inventor of genomic prediction, a revolutionary technology that has transformed livestock and crop breeding. The technique is now widely used to predict future trait outcomes in various species, including cattle. Thanks to this work, nearly every dairy bull chosen worldwide is selected based on genomic predictions, leading to remarkable improvements in key traits.

Together with his co-researchers, Prof Hayes developed and commercialised feed efficiency and heat tolerance genomic breeding values for dairy cattle, and genomic breeding values for fertility and parasite resistance for beef cattle.  On the crop side, he has developed predictions for quality in wheat and yields in sugarcane.

He is the author of more than 300 journal papers, including the first paper to demonstrate that lower methane emissions in cattle could be selected for with genomic breeding values, and the first paper that demonstrated that rumen microbiome profiles could accurately predict methane emissions.

He has a long history with CRCs – completing his PhD with the first Beef CRC in Rockhampton, and serving as a researcher in the second and third Beef CRCs.

Prof Hayes also led the 1000 Bull Genomes Project, a global consortium involving more than 30 institutions that have sequenced more than 6000 cattle genomes across 55 breeds. His work has not only advanced livestock and crop breeding but has also paved the way for further research in human disease prediction using genomic technology.

The ZNE Ag CRC, which kicked off its ten-year term in July, is divided into four research programs:

Low-emissions plant solutions – Developing solutions for low-emissions broadacre systems, as well as reduce emissions in cattle and sheep via the delivery of anti-methanogenic plants and low-emissions, high-productivity mixed-species pastures.

Towards methane-free cattle and sheep – Providing the technology and quantification required to transition livestock production to a low-methane emission future.

Whole-farm and mixed enterprise systems analysis – Integrating all the science emerging from the CRC to provide livestock producers and farmers with the guidelines, resources, metrics, and benchmarking tools required for a profitable transition to net-zero emissions

Delivering Value from Net Zero – Developing renewable energy and circular economy solutions that create profitable opportunities for agribusinesses and rural communities. The program will improve supply chain management and enhance access to key export markets.

• Click here to listen to a recent Weekly Grill podcast with Zero Net Emissions CRC chief executive Richard Heath.